That's Amore

Celebrating Norton Street Festa

From concerts to jumping castles, cooking demonstrations and an Auto Festa, Norton Street Italian Festa provides hours of entertainment for the entire family. There will be hundreds of stalls showcasing and selling a variety of fantastic products, as well as some of the most delicious food, coffee and gelato in all of Sydney. Don’t forget that it is also NSW Grandparents Day so bring along the whole family for a great day out and maybe a family picnic in the Olive Grove.

Ciao Fashion Parade

Style and beauty collide at one of the Festa’s highlights of the day. Yes that’s right, it’s the Ciao Fashion Parade! Showcasing the latest ranges from local boutiques with Spring racing, cocktail and formal themes, this is one event that local fashionistas will not want to miss.
The parade kicks off at 1pm on the Main Stage and with the Melbourne Cup just around the corner, this is the perfect opportunity to get a look at the hottest Spring Racing trends, frocks and hats. Local stores that will be featured in the parade include MIA on Norton, Meshea Lifestyle, Philadelphia Philpot Hats, Red Cross and selected retail outlets from MarketPlace Leichhardt and Marrickville Metro.

More Festa fashion…

One of the most successful international clothing brands of all time, NaraCamicie, will be showcasing some of their latest and greatest designs during the Norton Street Festa. First established in 1984 in Milan, NaraCamicie was the first concept store to open in Italy with the goal of creating the best high fashion shirts. They opened their flagship Australian store in July 2012, and this year the brand’s most exuberant designs will be modelled by a number of local celebrities on the festa stage!

Kids in the Kitchen…

This year’s cooking marquee will focus on regional Italian cooking where you can chat with the chefs and learn the secrets of Italian cooking plus a kids pizza competition where kids decorate pizzas on stage. Brought to you by MarketPlace Leichhardt.

Stalls to watch

Of the hundreds of stalls showcasing their products at the Norton St Festa, Di Leo Foods is one that promises to delight those with a passion for gourmet Italian foodstuffs. Di Leo Foods is a supplier and distributor of high end products for many restaurants, delis and cafes across Sydney. Originally focusing on containers and base ingredients such as cheeses and flour, Di Leo Foods has now broadened their product range to include various gourmet items such artichokes, herbs and spices, truffle oil and a variety of meats and seafood.

Dianetics and Scientology Centre Leichhardt will also be joining festa this year. They’ll have a stall offering free stress testing and introducing people to Hubbard’s technology (Dianetics and Scientology) – books and DVDs will be on display and available to purchase on the day, or pick up some free pamphlets on the subject from their stall.

Auto Festa

This issue’s cover star, Gianni Di Rocco, is the current President of the Italian Made Social Motoring Club (IMSMC), which he helped establish in 2008. Gianni and the rest of the IMSMC will be featured at the Norton Street Festa’s ‘Auto Festa’ this year, where they will be showcasing some of their favourite Italian cars…

How long have you been interested in cars?
Always! Being a sixties baby boomer, the Italian motor car was one which always looked good, sounded good and out performed other makes! I guess it was a case of, “When I grow up, I gotta get me one of those!”

What is your dream car to own?
I think I own it, a 1960 classic Fiat 500! Probably not the answer you were expecting.

What do you plan on showcasing at the Auto Festa this year?
We will have many examples of historic amd modern Fiats, Alfa Romeo’s, Lancia’s, Maseratti’s and Ferrari’s. I will bring my Fiat 850T van, very unique around these parts. I believe Alitalia Airline used to have these running around the tarmac, transferring luggage to and from Connecting Flights at Sydney Airport (so I am told)!

Battle of the beans

For those looking to relax and taste some of the finest, freshly brewed coffee, try the Coffee Corner, located just outside of Grinders.

Featuring plenty of cool grooves and charming baristas, this part of the Festa will be showcasing various coffee-related entertainment such as coffee tricks, latte art and a special competition to answer the question: Who is the Best Barista in the Inner West?

The competition will be divided into four separate heats, each with two individual challenges. The first begins at 10.45am with the battle to see which barista can create the best espresso and the best latte. The following heats are the best cappuccino and coffee art challenges at 11.15am, the most efficient barista and best tasting coffee at 2.45pm and finally the best barista personality and creativity test at 3.15pm. The award ceremony for the victors will be held 3.45pm.

There will also be the Best Latte Art Photography competition – open for all, just email your best coffee art pics to info@ciaomagazine.com.au or upload on our Facebook page facebook.com/ciaomagazine, to win tickets to the Italian Film Festival. Special thanks also to Grinders Coffee.

Palace Cinema Jazz Stage

12-16:00 Kafe Kool

MarketPlace Cooking Stage

10:00 Nonni in cucina with Nonna Alba & Nonna Lidia – These two Nonna’s will cook it out with their regional dishes.10:30 Master Pastry Chef Pino Locantro of Locantro Fine Foods will demonstrate the art of sweets and pastry. ‘Grandparent of the Year’ Awards presented by John Ajaka MP, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability Service11:15 Head Chef Christian Colognesi and Pizzaiolo Spataro will be demonstrating the art of Vera Pizza Napoletana and Risotto Milanese12:00 Paolo Gatto Chef (Gatto Matto Trattoria) will showcase his signature Sicilian dishes and traditional recipes from his home town12:40 Celebrity Chef Massimo Mele (Ready Steady Cook) will entertain us with recipes using products from Mutti and Salts Meat Cheese13:00 Head Chef Antonio Ruggerino from Verde Restaurant & Bar will showcase dishes from Calabria and educate the crowd on this region of Italy that is still relatively undiscovered13:45 Carla Tomini Forrest will create antipasto platters that are easy to prepare using amazing Italian cheeses, salumi, and preserved vegetables for that perfect picnic using products from Pino’s Dolce Vita Fine Foods14:15 Head Chefs Ciccio and Giovanni from Little Sicily in Leichhardt will prepare and entertain us with some of their favourite dishes using products from Di Leo Foods15:00 Host Enzo Guarino will showcase the Mediterranean Sauce from Barilla16:00 Grinners Pizza Challenge – Kids pizza cooking competition brought to you by MarketPlace Leichhardt.